Category Archives: Etsy

Behind the Scenes: The Holy Family

Every Advent, I like to work on a personal piece of artwork to help me contemplate the season. I decided to work on an image of the Holy Family after the birth of Jesus. I would work on it a little at a time using my iPad and an art app called Procreate.

Today’s video is a behind-the-scenes look at how I go from concept to sketch to final artwork. It’s hours of work condensed into a short sneak peek look at my process.

This image is also available as a print on my website.

Supplies used:

Procreate app https://procreate.com/

Beginner’s Guide to Digital Painting in Procreate https://amzn.to/3gPASgv

iPad Pro 11 inch https://amzn.to/3KV8Fjw

Apple Pencil 2nd Generation https://amzn.to/3BdAm2D

Procreate Watercolor Brushes https://creatoriq.cc/3mrQUAy

(Note: Amy Heyse Art is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

Holy Family Sacred Hearts

I had been listening to a podcast last spring about Eucharistic miracles. In the interview, they talked about the scientific testing that has been used on Eucharistic hosts. Under a microscope, the host looks like the heart of someone who has died from severe trauma.

The Holy Family aren’t bland, emotionless statues. My purpose with this series is to highlight that they were people who experienced severe trauma and were emotional beings.

Prints and stickers of each heart can be found on my Etsy page.

New Colorado Jewelry

I’m excited to announce my new Colorado jewelry pieces! I now offer square pendant necklaces and beautiful quick release cuff bracelets featuring Colorado Columbines and our Colorado Flag. Simply click on a photo to be brought to the item in my Etsy shop:

Need more Colorado love? There’s also Colorado greeting cards available in my shop:

New Product Photography

I had been planning on doing new product photography for the greeting cards in my Etsy shop to bring them up to the next level. It’s taken a while to do because I’ve been busy working my other jobs, but I finally finished the first phase of pictures.

Each greeting card was placed on a large piece of decorative and elegant scrapbook paper. I used silk flowers, feathers, jewelry, and other small items to help draw out the colors in the artwork or hint at the theme of the piece. I still want to take more pictures featuring the cards in frames since the cards can also be framed as prints.

A side-by-side comparison of the old product shots and the new.

Here’s a screen shot of my Etsy shop homepage. I had updated about half of the greeting cards at the time of this picture, and it amazes me how much more my eye is drawn to the cards that have the new product photography shots. There’s a new level of sophistication and professionalism that wasn’t quite there before:

Here’s a couple more examples of the new and improved greeting card pictures:

New 5×7″ Greeting Cards

A common item I have been asked to start carrying in my Etsy shop has been greeting cards. I am happy to announce that I now carry blank 5×7″ greeting cards featuring my artwork!

Currently, customers have the option of selecting 1-2 greeting cards or picking a set of 5. All of the artwork I create is made in my home studio and the new greeting cards are also printed from home. There are currently over 20 images to choose from.